Overwatch 2 New Hero: Illari Abilities Rundown

Join the rising sun in Overwatch 2 Season 6! Blizzard Entertainment have truly upped the ante this time, bringing tons of changes like the PvE Overwatch 2 Invasion story missions, new Flashpoint maps like New Junk City, and a brand new Support hero has joined the growing roster.

Illari is a Peruvian Support hero that uses solar-powered abilities to heal allies and can even knockback enemies with her blinding light. Her low-skill ceiling makes her great fun for newcomers and long-time veteran players.

While her Solar Rifle and appearance look eerily similar to League of Legends' Senna, Illari will brighten up the Support class as the 10th new hero to join Overwatch 2's Support roster. Read on for how to unlock Illari and all her abilities.

Overwatch 2: How to Unlock Illari

Illari is the newest Support hero to join the likes of Mercy and Ana. Her release aligns with Overwatch 2 emerging from Early Access as the long-awaited PvE Invasion Story missions launched, with the purchasable Invasion Ultimate bundle.

Illari can be unlocked immediately with an instant purchase of the game's Invasion Premium Battle Pass, or she can be earned by grinding through the tiers of the free Battle Pass at level 45. If you have yet to unlock the other new heroes in the game, you can grab the New Heroes Starter Pack from the in-game shop.

Overwatch 2: Illari's Abilities

Illari's kit is unlike anything seen before in Overwatch 2. Illari's Solar Rifle fires to heal friendly teammates or damage enemies like Ana.

Her healing abilities are limited to her secondary fire or Healing Pylon, as her ultimate ability is more for damaging enemies rather than providing utility for her team. Check out Illari's official gameplay trailer below.

Solar Rifle

Primary Fire

Long-range auto-charging rifle to damage enemies. It must be fired to generate solar energy to use for healing allies.

Secondary Fire

Medium-range healing beam that consumes solar energy and fires straight ahead.

Outburst

Her Outburst ability will launch her in the direction she is moving, knocking back nearby enemies. Hold "Jump" to go higher.

Healing Pylon

Like Baptiste's Immortality Field, Illari can deploy a Healing Pylon that heals nearby allies rather than giving them immunity. It also has an extensive range, able to heal an airborne Pharah or Echo. Healing Pylon also has a cooldown of eight seconds before a new one can be deployed.

While defensive abilities like Defense Matrix, Kinetic Grasp or Deflect cannot block a Healing Pylon from being deployed, these abilities can negate the healing done by the Healing Pylon, minimizing its effectiveness.

Healing Pylon can be destroyed, so it should be placed cautiously. It can even be hacked and disabled by Sombra for ten seconds.

Captive Sun (Ultimate Ability)

Fire an explosive ball of solar energy. Enemies hit are slowed and explode after taking significant damage. Captive Sun also launched Illari into the air, granting her free flight and giving her a birds-eye view of the battleground. A large solar ball replaces her next shot from her Solar Rifle.

Captive Sun is a channeled ability, and can easily be stunned, knocked down, or hacked, consuming her Ultimate charge. Illari's ball of solar energy can be blocked by several hero abilities, like D.Va's Defense Matrix, Sigma's Kinetic Grasp, and Orisa's Javelin Spin.

Final Thoughts

Like every new addition to Overwatch 2's roster, it will be a few weeks before Illari will be available in your ranked matches, so you have time to get to grips with her! It'll be interesting to see how her hybrid damage/healing capabilities impact the meta going forward as Overwatch 2 now leaves Early Access.

If you want more Overwatch 2 content, you've come to the right place! Rivalry is the place to be for all things esports - we've got the best Overwatch 2 crosshairs, system requirements, how to unlock other heroes, and more on our blog page!